#220 Cafe Medina @ Betty Street, Vancouver
Fine and I have not spend time together ever since I came back so she asked me to hang out on the 14th day that I was back in Vancouver. She suggested Cafe Medina and I just went with the flow.
Cafe Medina
556 Beatty Street Vancouver,
BC V6B 2L3
(604) 879-3114
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Cafe Medina is just a short walk from Stadium skytrain station. It has the same interior as Chambar as the wall is made of bricks. However, Chambar is more spacious while Cafe Medina is too small and clustered. There are always long line ups during the weekends. Fortunately, Fine and I met at 1pm on a Friday afternoon and did not have to wait before we were seated. The lady serving us was so professional and willingly took many pictures of us when requested.
[EDITED]
UPDATED ON November 18th, 2013.
The waffles are a big HIT at Cafe Medina so Janet and I wanted to check out what was all the fuss about. We did not have to line up long to get a seat as we came at around 1.30pm on a Sunday afternoon. We decided to share two liege waffles with milk chocolate lavender topping. I got to say that I did not like the texture and taste of the liege waffles but the milk chocolate lavender topping is really gratifying and unique. Both Janet and I found the waffles overrated but we simply adore the lavender topping. Janet also ordered the 8oz Mocha White Chocolate but since I am not a coffee lover, I shall not make any comments about that.
The total came to about CAD$12.23 and we topped 15% for tips. The waffle is CAD$3.15 per piece, just for your information.
[/EDITED]
As you can see from the first picture, I had the Milk Chocolate Lavender Mocha (2nd & 3rd pictures) and Tagine (4th-6th pictures) while Fine ordered the Saumon Fume (7th-9th pictures). The order costs CAD$4.25 (for 12oz), CAD$14 and CAD$12 respectively. I do not usually drink coffee but I decided to try the mocha as it is lavender flavoured. As I do not enjoy the bitter taste of coffee, the server recommended me to get the milk chocolate lavender mocha and boy, the coffee is one of the best I have ever tasted! I really fancy the fragrance of the lavender and the taste of floral and mocha combination. The lavender flavour is not overpowering to the taste buds and this is what makes a flavoured coffee excellent!
Ratings: 3/5★
The Tagine comprises of spicy tomato stew topped with Moroccan olives, cilantro, red pepper, merguez sausage and 2 poached eggs with Grilled foccacia at the side. I am such a fan for poached eggs and the poached egg at Cafe Medina is not your typical kind. Due to the spices and herbs added into the dish, the stew was a little too salty, heavy and acidic for my liking. I do not enjoy consuming bread as much as noodles and pastas so the grilled foccacia was a little dry and hard for me.
*foccacia: “a flat oven-baked Italian bread”
Ratings: 3.5/5★
Fine’s dish was a little different from mine as she was served with an open faced ciabatta sandwich topped with sunny-side up at one end of a long plate and smoked salmon, caper cream cheese, sliced avocado, arugula, peppadew and artichoke salad at the other end of the plate. She prefers my dish to her dish though.
*ciabatta: “an Italian white bread made from wheat flour and yeast”
The total bill was CAD$33.62 and we topped 15% tips for the server as well!
NEAREST SKYTRAIN STATION: Stadium
Opens:
Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m
(Breakfast served from 9:00 a.m – Noon
Lunch is served from Noon – 3:00pm)
Weekends 9:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m
Brunch served from 9 a.m to 3 p.m
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Service: 9/10
Food (taste & appearance): 6.5/10
Value: 6/10
Total: 7.5/10★
I fell in love with the floral flavoured coffee at Cafe Medina but I found that the place is quite overrated. There are better brunch places at West 4th and you do not have to queue an hour to be seated! Food is a little above average but not worth the wait. Will try the waffles on my next visit though.
